Skip to content

kamantigi

kamantigî with stress marks

touch-me-not plant

noun ka-man-ti-GI Native origin Rare

Usage Note

Kamantigi refers to Impatiens balsamina, a common garden plant whose seed pods snap open when touched, giving it the name touch-me-not. Children in the Philippines love to pop the seed pods, and the plant produces brightly colored flowers used in folk medicine and as a natural dye in some communities.

Examples

Beginner

" Namumulaklak ang kamantigi. "

Natural Translation

The touch-me-not plant is blooming.

Literal Translation

Blooming the kamantigi.

Intermediate

" Natutuwa ang mga bata sa pagpuputok ng binhi ng kamantigi. "

Natural Translation

The children enjoy popping the seeds of the touch-me-not plant.

Literal Translation

Delighted the children at-the popping the seeds the kamantigi.

Advanced

" Sa hardin ng aking lola, may mga kamantigi na ginagamit niya bilang gamot at pangkulay sa kuko. "

Natural Translation

In my grandmother's garden, there are touch-me-not plants that she uses as medicine and as a dye for the nails.

Literal Translation

In-the garden of my grandmother, there-are kamantigi that uses she as medicine and dye for-the nails.

Free · iOS & Android

Take Tagalog with you

The full course, a 12,500-word dictionary, and flashcards that make every word stick — free to start on iOS and Android.

Tagalog builds thousands of words from a few hundred roots.

How Tagalog words work

Explore Tagalog by topic

Free guides on grammar, vocabulary, and culture to take you past single-word lookups.